The Robbery Chapter 15
by susanb51
Summary: Keith recovers from being a hostage.


The Robbery

Chapter Fifteen:

Keith felt like a new man. He was clean. His hair was washed and dry and gleaming under the fluorescent bulbs of the hospital bathroom. He was wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and black socks.

He padded out of the bathroom and noticed the wonderful aroma of cinnamon. "Oh, yeah," he breathed.

Shirley had two warm rolls waiting,a large glass of milk, and two strips of bacon as a surprise. "Here honey. Climb up on the bed."

"Bacon! This day is getting better already." Keith grabbed up a strip and crunched happily. It was salty and delicious. Then he picked up the gooey, warm roll and took a bite. "Wow, Mom. This is incredible. It's almost like grandma's. Did you have one," he asked as he climbed into the bed.

"Yes, I ate while you were showering. They are fabulous. Dr. Philippe was so nice to bring them. Keith I spoke to the nurse and you can visit with Angelina after you eat but then it is rest, rest, and more rest. You look like you are feeling much better," Shirley said as she inspected her son up and down.

Keith gave her a warm smile and crunched some more bacon and gulped on his milk. The food was wonderful but at the mention of Angelina, Keith felt a strange sense of urgency. He wanted to see her and now he wanted to talk to the trooper. It was time for this whole disastrous affair to be over and done. Keith smiled but ate without talking. The sooner the food was gone the sooner he could check on the girl.

Keith gobbled the last of his cinnamon roll and washed it down with the milk. "Done," he replied with a satisfied smirk. "I'm ready to check on Angelina. Where are my shoes?"

Shirley reached beside the bed and handed Keith a new pair of black sneakers. "Reuben sent these over too. You know you look pretty good in all these new clothes."

Keith laughed. "It sure beats the heck out of that stupid hospital gown. I'm ready to go now to see Angie." He stood up tall but Shirley could see the worry etched on his young face.

"Are you sure about this, Keith" Shirley asked gently.

"I have to do this, Mother." His use of 'Mother' was a warning for Shirley not to interfere. "You can walk with me but I want to see her alone, okay?"

Shirley smiled and took his hand. "That's fine. I can sit in a waiting room until you've finished. I know this is important to you."

As they came out of Keith's room the nurse appeared. "I'm here to escort you up to the sixth floor. You've been given special permission to see Angelina." She gave Shirley and Keith a happy smile and they followed her to the elevator.

No one spoke. Keith was nervous but determined. Once out of the elevator they ventured down several corridors each with imposing gates and locks. Serious looking doctors and nurses served this area of the hospital. At the last locked gate a young woman doctor greeted them.

"Good Morning. You must be Keith Partridge. I'm Miss Moretti's doctor. My name is Nicole Jones. I'm glad that you wanted to see Angelina. Mrs. Partridge, I hope you won't mind if Keith sees Angelina alone. I am unsure of how she is going to respond so the fewer the visitors the better. You and the nurse can wait in the conference room to your right. Keith and I will return in just a few minutes. This will need to be a short visit."

As Shirley and the nurse disappeared into the conference room; Keith and the doctor continued on. They came to a white door with a small screened observation window. Doctor Jones touched Keith's arm. "Keith. Before we go inside I need to tell you a few things. Angelina has not spoken a word since she was brought here yesterday. She really hasn't responded to anything we have done or tried so far. I was told by the police what they think happened so I am aware of the trauma you two have suffered. I do not know if she will recognize you. Please do not let this upset you. Angelina has a long recovery road ahead but this is an excellent hospital and we will do our best to help Angelina heal. Ok. Are you ready?"

Keith nodded quietly. He had listened but so far had not spoken a word himself. His hands were shaking but he ignored them.

Doctor Jones unlocked the room and ushered Keith inside. Angelina sat in a wooden rocking chair. Slowly she rocked forward and back again. Her long blond hair hung limply down her shoulders. She wore one of those horrible hospital gowns but still she was beautiful. Her sad eyes stared straight ahead.

Doctor Jones smiled and spoke gently. "Angelina? I brought a friend with me today. You remember Keith? He has come to say hello." She motioned for Keith to take a step closer.

Keith ignored the doctor completely. He walked right over to the rocker and crouched down eye level with Angelina. He took her hand in his and smiled and began to coo gently to her. "Hey baby. It's me I'm here. I told you I would be here. Remember, Angie?"

To the doctor's shock, Angelina turned and faced Keith. She looked at him and smiled. She stood to her feet and Keith gathered her in his arms. Angelina let Keith hug her close. She pulled away again. She petted his hair and ran her hands across his chest. She whispered his name once, twice, three times. "Keith, Keith, Keith."

She gave him one last sweet smile. Then her eyes clouded over in sadness and she sat down in her chair. It rocked forward and backward as Angelina sank back into her psychotic dungeon. She was gone again.

Keith was stunned. He meant to try again but the doctor stopped him. "Please, Mr. Partridge. That's enough for today." Keith shook his head but the doctor ushered him out of the room.

"Mr. Partridge. I know that was hard. Angelina needs to hide away right now to protect her mind from all that it has experienced. She only came out because of her love for you. That gives us a glimmer of hope but she needs to be left alone now. She isn't ready to come back to the real world. It can't be rushed. You understand don't you?" Doctor Jones watched the boy process what she had explained.

Keith nodded. "I see what you're saying but I don't like it. How can I leave her like that just rocking and staring at nothing?"

"You can't help her. What you did just then was wonderful but it was her good bye to you. She just can't face the world or you right now. She needs a lot more time to heal. She needs more than you can give. Go home. Go back to your life and your world. Go back to those that love and need you. Angelina can't be a part of our world now. She may never be able to come back to reality but we will keep trying until she can. If things change I promise we will contact you. But Keith, don't expect to hear from us for a long, long time. I'm being honest with you. For now this is the best that I can tell you. Good bye and thank you again for coming to see her."

As the doctor turned to walk away Shirley and Nurse Myers joined him. "Are you okay,"Shirley asked as she took Keith's hand.

Keith shook his head. "Mom, that poor girl. She hugged me and spoke my name but then she went right back into shock. This is so wrong! I feel so helpless."

"Keith,"Shirley began, "This is not your battle to fight. This will be Angelina's own war. She alone must decide if she wants to rejoin the real world. You can't make that decision for her. Life is hard and a person needs to be strong. Right now she doesn't have the strength. You can't give it to her. She has to get it for herself and with the help of the doctors I am sure she will. We have to trust that they will take good care of her. Let her go, Keith. At least for right now."

He nodded but she knew he wasn't happy with anything the adults around him were suggesting. Keith would let it go for now. He took his mother's hand and they returned to his room to face Trooper Bower.

A few days later Keith was discharged and returned to San Pueblo with his mother and manager. The next week he returned to school. The week after that Keith insisted that they go on tour again.

From time to time, Keith would pull Reuben aside and ask about Angelina but there had been no word from the doctors so that meant there had been no improvement. Reuben did tell Keith that the doctors were playing Angelina some of the Partridge Family's music on days when she seemed agitated and that the music had a calming effect on her.

One sunny afternoon about six months later, Keith and his sister Laurie were walking home from school. In their driveway was a California Highway Patrol car. "Oh, crap," Keith said out loud. "This can't be good." He gave Laurie a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head and walked in the front door.

Sitting on the couch next to his mother was Trooper Bower. Shirley got up when Keith entered the house. "Keith, you remember Trooper Bower?"

"Yes, ma'am. Is everything alright?" Keith didn't want pleasantries. He wanted the man to get to the point of his visit.

"Everything is fine," his mother replied. "The trooper has a post card he wanted to show you." She turned to the trooper so he could explain.

"Keith, a week ago this post card arrived at the Moretti house. If you remember you had asked what had happened to the driver, Kevin? The police and FBI had figured out that Kevin Lambert had left the country via Mexico Airways but then all trace was lost until last week when this arrived. I got special permission to show it to you. I thought it might give you some closure."

Bower handed the card to Keith. It had a picture of Maui, Hawaii. With Laurie peeking over his shoulder, Keith read it aloud. "Dear Joe. Guess by now you and Frank have figured out I am never coming back with the money. When you two decided to sink low enough to kill kids that was it for me. I decided to take all the money and go spend the rest of my life loving my wife and four children. I won't be seeing you two in Rio later this year. I am done with our friendship and business dealings. I have not heard what became of you but I heard about poor Angie having some sort of nervous breakdown. I will keep tabs on her since she seems to have been abandoned by you and will make sure she is taken care of for the rest of her life financially. Frank's five ex wives are fighting over his money. I heard he died though none of the women knew how or cared. I know that kid Keith is alright. I've heard his music nonstop on my stereo ever since my daughter Elena turned eleven back in November. You were right. Keith is very talented. I'm glad you let them go. Take care of yourself. That's what you're best at. It was a wild ride these twenty years but it's over for me. Kevin."

Keith shook his head in disgust and gave the trooper the postcard. "Thank you. At least now I know he is far away and doesn't plan to return. He seems to be the nicest of the three but that isn't saying much. Trooper Bower if you hear anything else I don't want to know."

Keith turned to his mother. "I'm going into the garage to practice my guitar. Call me when dinner is ready." He gave her a kiss and walked into the kitchen and out the back door.

Shirley smiled. Music. That was how Keith handled his problems. The screaming of his electric guitar would soothe Keith and by dinnertime he'd no longer be annoyed by that postcard. It wasn't going to be easy but through the music they would all be okay.


End file.
